The Influence of Mothers’ Lifestyle and Health Behavior on Their Children: An Exploration for Oral Health

BACKGROUND: Parents and teachers involvement reinforce health promotion programs for children's health. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate mothers’ lifestyle behavior and its association with children's oral health. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a cross sectional study on 383 children and their mothers who were selected from 6 primary schools in Tehran, Iran. Mothers and children who participated in this study were asked to complete a questionnaire containing demographic questions, knowledge of oral health, attitude towards the oral health behavior, and oral health behaviors. Furthermore, the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) and Community Periodontal Index (CPI) were assessed by two calibrated dentists. Data were analyzed with multilevel mixed model analyses. RESULTS: The average age of the children and their mothers were 11.6 and 38.4 years, respectively. Mothers’ higher knowledge, higher educational status, positive attitude, higher frequent oral health behaviors, lower DMFT and lower CPI were all associated significantly with children’s higher oral health status. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that to improve children’s oral health, educational interventions should focus on both children and mothers to obtain a more promising outcome.